A Happy Ending and Other Outrageous Lies
by L'Archel-Hotishi
Summary: The three smartest children of Whammy's House decide to go into a haunted mansion to spend the night during a storm. However, as soon as they enter, something chilling forces them to battle the spirit of a vengeful woman.


Title: A Happy Ending (and more outrageous lies…)

Pairing: Matt x Mello x Near ((Only a little though…almost none))

Disclaimer: デスノート, the anime, the manga, and the film are not mine. I merely write retarded crack about them.

Whew! Normally I write my beginning blurb before I start the story, but this time I wrote it after I finished the fanfic. I was writing a Raitou x L lemon fanfic before this, but it got erased and this came out of the catacombs of my mind.

This is crack, or pure boredom in the form of 13 pages, 3 coffees, 4 all-nighters, and 5 Madonna songs I listened to while writing this. Normally, I allow flaming. However, this is crack, so **no flaming the poor author…**

**Favorite Death Note Pairings!!**

Near x Whoever he wants….

L x Raitou

Tee hee Short list.

--START--

Near, Matt, and Mello looked up at the house, crumbling from years of decay. The wood was termite infested and it's gray paint peeling from decades of neglect. Matt looked up from playing his Gameboy when a flock of crows fluttered from and old, naked tree out front. Mello looked at each of the windows, covered in specs of dust. Spider web cracks danced across the cloudy glass, branching out in every direction. Near twirled his hair, a teddy bear named Maroon held in his other hand, its paws gliding across the dirt. "…It looks haunted…"

"…"

Mello crossed his arms, pretending to be unimpressed with the daunting building.

Near twirled his hair.

"…"

Matt saved his _Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories _data and flicked the off switch. He looked to Mello and shrugged. "Probably. Wanna find out…?"

Mello kicked a rock in front of him, blonde hair swaying in a gust of cold wind. "Sounds boring. Roger will probably get mad at us too if we're out too long…."

Near walked closer to the mansion, a blank smile on his milky white face. "Mello, Matt…I think we should go in…"

Matt looked to Mello to see if would actually listen to the thirteen-year-old talk. Apparently, something interested the blonde. "What do you mean, Near?"

"Don't listen Mello," Matt snapped. Whenever Near thought doing something was fun, it never was. It was always a disaster. Going on this stupid walk when Roger said there was a storm coming was Near's idea too, as a matter of fact. Yet, the white haired boy went on talking, taking the fluffy brown hair in his arms and cuddling it. "I want to stay. They could have fun toys here…"

The redhead boy looked up at the darkening sky and let out a sigh of anger. "Near might be right. It's getting too dark to go back. We can make up an excuse in the morning…"

"But…"

Near put Maroon to his side ad swung open the door. "There is no way that Linda would come looking for us this late. She's the type that's probably scared of the dark." Mello looked to Matt in distress. Near, Matt, and Mello spending the night in a dark, haunted house spelled enormous trouble. The redhead and blonde were no issue, Near however, was indeed an issue. Matt didn't like him, and Mello was pissed because the child always came in first, leaving him in second place. It was certain to be an **interesting **adventure. At least they were sure of that.

-- -

Near climbed the stairs to the attic, leaving his bear sitting next to Mello on the vintage print couch. Matt poked logs in the fireplace, hoping to find one that wasn't a hump of ashes. He had no avail and laid on the floor. "Dammit…Mello, let's leave…"

A huge bolt of lightning struck and thunder boomed like a drum. It echoed through the house briefly, the planks and walls looking like they were about to collapse. Matt turned. "This is even more dangerous than being outside! Let's leave!"

"Matt I…" Mello looked away and combed a hand through his hair. "Our best chance is to stay here and try to get sleep. If we are lucky, someone will come and get us. Whammy's House will find us…" He looked down, blue eyes relaxed and calm. He pulled his knees to his chest, holding them close. "I don't have any chocolate…"

Matt laughed and pulled out his Gameboy again, red hair framing an angelic looking facing the woe of the darkness. "Mello…you're cute when you're pretending to not be scared…"

The blonde blushed a typical cherry shaded blush.

"Shut up, Matt! Who are **you** to talk to me like that!"

Matt laughed and saw another quick flash outside, making him turn. The screen to his game quickly lit up, the lights flashing on his cheeks as he looked over to the stairs. "Near, it's too risky to be up there. Come down now."

No response came.

"Near!" Matt asked again, this time more annoyed than he was concerned. Mello raised an eyebrow. "You think everything's okay?"

Again, the game screen flickered as the boy stood up, Matt unleashing a combo attack that instantly defeated a boss. "We've got no choice. Maybe he locked himself in a trunk," he playfully teased. Mello's voice rose off the scale a bit.

"Pardon?"

"You've never heard that story?" Matt replied, surprised by Mello's clueless expression. Matt returned his gaze to the screen and began to tell Mello the story, all the while pushing the buttons on the small black system.

There was once a bride dressed in a stunning long white gown that wanted to have her wedding at her parent's old house to celebrate. After the party was finished, they decided to play a game of hide- and-go-seek. The bride ran up to the attic, knowing exactly where she would hide.

_A place nobody would find her…_

_She knew that up in the attic was a trunk that nobody used anymore. If she could fit inside, it would be the best hiding place ever. She ran upstairs while the groom counted to one hundred. She lifted up her dress and got ready to step inside._

Mello raised his hand. "The ending is obvious. She got into the truck, but it got locked from the outside and she couldn't get out, right? Nobody could find her, they called the police, but she never turned out. Finally new owners of the house came, opened the truck and found her corpse. Right, Matt?"

Matt completed the stage with another high score.

"That's right. Likewise, let's go see if the bride needs our help."

"I guess Roger kill us if we didn't come back with Near…" Mello said, climbing the rickety stairs. Matt was in front of him, being the first one to step into the musky attic. He coughed harshly. "Oh fuck…it smells like hell Mello…."

Mello covered his mouth with his black shirt collar and Matt used his hand. "Near!" The blonde called, looking over into the corner to see the only bright thing in the room rummaging through a chest. The redhead blinked and hissed through a closed hand, "Near, come downstairs. It's not safe to be upstairs in a storm like this…"

Near looked back, eyes a little wider than Mello and Matt seemed to have wanted. Matt tried to smile, just to please Near. "Hey, come on…"

Mello looked to see a pile of dolls in the opposing corner of the attic, old porcelain dolls with broken faces and torn cottage dresses. Mello and Matt walked over to Near and knelt beside him, both a little hesitant to see what the white haired boy had seen. Near pointed to the trunk where the dolls came from. "Something inside…"

Matt choked. "What?"

"It was sticky…like paste…"

Mello covered his mouth. "What the fuck? Near…what's that supposed to mean? Did you, like, find some sick rotting piece of flesh?"

Matt dared to look inside the trunk and prove Near was only imagining things. Yet thinking that Near could make such a stupid mistake was slim, nearly none. This didn't encourage Matt muscles to move any further inside the trunk. Mello grabbed his wrist. "Don't reach in. It's old and probably has some old shit at the bottom…"

He looked to the white haired boy to scold him.

"You shouldn't be touching such—NEAR!!"

Matt looked alarmed at the dress on the doll Near was holding. It was a crimson color, like menstrual blood, and it smelled the same. It looked like paste, just a Near said.

"_**It's not pus or blood…but it's…."**_

Matt pulled Near away from the doll and down the stairs, the game still in his hands. It was on, but Matt wasn't playing it. "Near, stay downstairs. You're not to go up there again." Near looked shaken, it was scary.

Never before had this boy shown so much emotion.

Mello watched them from the top of the stairs, pupils shaking. He looked back into the catacombs of the attic curiously. He watched the stillness.

No sound besides his breathing and heart thumping. He could feel his blood racing through his icy skin, now feeling like brittle tissue. His body got hot, then cold again. The misery in the room was intense, but maybe the dust or the atmosphere induced it. He felt dizzy and sick. He continued to stand, but felt the burning in his throat. Suddenly, just when the blonde almost lost it, all feeling in the room ceased. It was blank, like the whole room was holding its breath.

Like the calm before the storm.

Mello, still, felt immense peace for the moment. He was totally alone in the room. Whatever was there before, if anything, was gone.

"Mello! Don't stay up in that place—you'll get sick!" Matt cried from the couch. Mello turned around and ran down the stairs to Matt and Near. Near's face still scared him, but it was less creepy than the attic. The mood lightened a little, if any.

Finally, the batteries ran out, and Matt's Gameboy was dead.

-- -

Mello awoke on the couch, the crunchy old cushioning cracking every time he turned on his side. He looked out and saw the sunshine through the window in perfect, crisp squares. His blue eyes became brighter.

Sunlight was a good thing to see after being through such strange phenomenon. Near still huddled with his teddy next to him, but Matt's space was empty. Outside the door, Matt stood leaning on the deck outside. The redhead leaned back and combed his hair back in a stressed manner, expressing some true terror. Mello felt bad now.

Sure, Near was the one who wanted to stay, but Mello should have at least let Matt leave ahead of him. Maybe Roger would have come to get them. Maybe Matt would have gotten lost in the storm and died. Maybe Near wouldn't have gone it the attic.

The last option would have made Mello really happy. It didn't happen though. Just like the blonde's life so far, nothing went as planned. Everything was always a mess. Worse, Matt and Mello both knew they couldn't blame each other for this. As they waited for Near to wake up on the porch, they tried to think of an excuse to tell Roger.

Also to explain what they had found.

"What are we going to tell Roger when we get back?" Mello asked.

"What do you think, Mello? We're going to tell his we stayed in an old house to escape a storm, and that's all."

"But…what about upstairs?"

"We just won't say anything…" Matt replied coolly, leaning back on the railing. The beam cracked and Matt had to lean forward again in fear of falling over the side. "We can leave as soon as Near wakes up."

Small footsteps approached them on the porch, a childish moan following. Mello and Matt looked over to see the same white haired boy they were just talking about staring expectantly at them. Matt blinked and glared back, eyebrows knitted together. "What is it Near?"

"Maroon is missing," he said in his monotone voice. "I'm going to look for him in the attic." Near turned and headed for the staircase. Matt gasped and went to stop him. "There's no way that retarded bear is up there!"

Near looked back. "Where else could it be? It's the only place in the house that we hate, and that we've seen. It's a matter of getting the task out of the way early because it's either useless, going to scare us to death, or we'll find Maroon and move on."

Mello protested to keep them from going upstairs. "Well, shouldn't we check that place last so we don't get scared in the very beginning?"

"So Mello, you're going to make this a matter of personal fancy are you?"

A vein pulsed from Mello's cheek. Matt waved his hands, trying to calm his friend down. "Near…why don't just go back? We can ask Roger to get Maroon for you…"

"Are you going to follow, Mello?"

Mello wanted to get that bear back, but at the same time never venture into the attic again. But if this was a challenge from Near, then he had to take it. No way he was going to let anything come between him and taking first place. He grabbed Near's hand, then Matt's elbow and started up the stairs. Near walked with Mello's speed. Matt tried to pull away. "Mello! Didn't you see what was up there?"

Neither Mello no Near could argue with that.

"Besides, there's probably someone else in the house! Nobody knows what's up there! It could be a killer, or a rapist—"

"Or a ghost…" Near stated flatly, becoming impatient.

Matt's eyes narrowed to the point his pupils looked like shards broken off a rock. It seemed as if a demon was looking at Near and Mello. Mello stepped back away from him. "Matt…?"

The redhead held out his arms on the staircase, almost as if he was protecting it. "Don't go Mello!"

He growled under his breath and looked at Near. "Don't drag others into your game! GO YOURSELF!"

Mello stepped off the flight of steps and took Near with him, holding his hand and taking him to the front door. Matt stared at them, then decided to follow along. Mello put his arm around Matt. "Are you going to be okay?"

Matt wheezed a breath, clinging to his friend. "I don't want to go up there. I can't…"

Near looked away. "I was going to go by myself…but you wanted to keep me safe…"

Matt and Mello smiled at him, seeing through the veil of adult intelligence and seeing the boyish innocence beyond. "Oh Near…"

Near nodded and looped his white hair through his fingers like they were noodles in chopsticks. "Then…we get Roger to go upstairs for us?"

Matt nodded coldly and grit his teeth. He threw his head back, distressed. "Let's leave…"

Mello worried greatly about his friends. Near had been scared the other night, and now the blonde boy doubted Matt's sanity. All because of what was in the attic. Near looked back for a few seconds, then walked straight to the stairs. Matt caught him and ran towards him. "Wait, Near!"

Mello shivered and grabbed his arms, hugging himself. Near was determined to get Maroon back, and wouldn't let some make-believe ghost take his favorite toy away from him. He climbed the stairs, Matt trailing behind. The Gameboy in his pocket was heard rubbing against his leg. "Near!" The white haired boy suddenly turned and snatched the game console from his pocket, then continued up the stairs. Matt, appalled someone would steal his game, turned to the blonde behind him on the staircase. Mello shrugged, showing his guess was as best as the redhead's. Both boys arrived at the top of the stairs, Mello still slightly unsure that they didn't have the opportunity to turn back. Matt just wanted his game back from the white haired annoyance so they could go home. Unfortunately, when they arrived at the top, it seemed more realistic to assume their horrors would not come to such and abrupt stop.

Near sat on the floor, playing the Gameboy that ran out of batteries hours ago. Matt and Mello were paralyzed, frozen with fear. Only Mello had the nerve to speak, and it wasn't even a coherent sentence.

It was a stuttered whisper.

"Near…where did you…"

"When a spirit manifests itself, either during a intelligent or residual haunting, they draw in energy from batteries or outlets. Since this is a old house with no modern technology, I thought it best to experiment on Matt's game, to see if this room held gathered energy."

Matt hummed in confusion.

Near explained further, "If the ghost is in the room, then this room will be full of energy that was gathered so an apparition would appear."

"Apparition? I thought ghosts were made of that ectoplasm stuff…"

Near turned the Gameboy off and tossed it to Matt, then stood up. His white clothes were stained a light brown from the dust and dirt on the old wooden floor. He sneezed when a cloud of dust was kicked up when he got up off the ground. Then Near continued to speak. "Well…that's a theory. They're basically the same thing, actually. Ectoplasm literally means _outside plasma _in Greek. It's what physics or mediums see when a ghost is forming when they are in their physic trance, although seems more popular in pop culture than real life. Did I answer you?"

Matt nodded and Mello shook in anger. "What's your point Near? I don't want to stay much longer if we don't have to."

Near smiled and turned around, pointing to the trunk in the back of the attic next to the old window, sun shining through brilliantly. "I'm saying that because I just proved there is a ghost residing up here, you should look."

Matt and Mello both looked over. The fluffy brown bear Maroon was sitting upon the chest, smiling back at them as if nothing ever happened. The redhead and blonde both looked at each other in utter shock and disbelief. The white haired boy smiled and picked up his bear. "Now we have a story to tell Roger."

-- -

The children arrived back at Whammy's House, cold and obviously filthy from the house they stayed in. Near being the one wearing all white looked the worse of the three. Linda looked out the door to see them walking towards the orphanage, salty tears clouding her vision. "Near, Mello, Matt!!"

The small girl ran up to them and hugged the three of them all at once, sobbing. "I was **sooooo** scared! Roger said that there was a kidnapping while you guys were gone, and I thought you guys were—were…."

Matt blinked. "Kidnapping?"

Linda wiped her eyes, stepped back, and began to explain. "You didn't know or hear from town?"

Two shook their heads and Near played with his hair, Maroon again being dragged along the ground. "Well," Linda began. "There was a kidnapping nearby early that day, right along the time you guys left to go on a walk. They haven't found her yet. I thought…you guys were gone too when you didn't come back…." She wailed again and flew into their arms, Maroon's arms the only ones who cared to open. Mello was too stunned to even breath for the moment. "So…the ghost lady…"

"Was trying to tell us that her body was…"

"But—" Mello cried, utterly confused as to how a lady from some retarded children's story could help solve a hostage situation. "That story wasn't real…right Matt?"

Matt shook his head. "It wasn't supposed to be…"

A white haired man hurried to the gate, his face showing signs of significant sleep loss. The black circles under his eyes, unkempt hair, and missing (probably misplaced) glasses from his face signaled he must have been at least a little worried about them. "Boys, boys!"

He leaned over them, eyes glazed over with either tears or plain and simple anger. To that pre-packaged anger, you just need to add punishment to make it a very bad day for the three boys. Lucky for them, Roger was sympathetic towards them spending night in a sheltered area during a storm and didn't chastise them. He was however very curious when Mello addressed the scariest thing, more so than the storm.

"You found the girl's body!" He cried, three boys sitting in chairs in front of his sturdy wood desk. His spectacles (the extra pair he didn't lose) dropped on the desk and cracked, the old man still in shock. Near walked over and picked the up the eyeglasses, placing them on Maroon. "Don't you look nice…"

Roger was stunned, Matt and Mello trying to further explain. Instead, the old man demanded proof from the boys. So, reluctantly, Matt and Mello took both of his hands and took him to the old, western mansion.

-- -

The police surrounded the house, blue and red sirens blaring and shining in the setting sun's illuminating rays. Just the setting sun alone would have been a happy benediction, but the police and the decaying body in the attic completely tarnished whatever joyfulness the scene had. Roger watched, tissue over his mouth, as they pulled the body from the trunk. He sighed. "This is indeed his daughter, I'm sorry to say. We will have to notify him of his soon."

Matt was still very suspicious. "But, how did the body decay so fast?" The redhead, being incredulous of the body's fast decomposition, turned to the blonde child. "Do you know Mello?"

He shook his head.

"Near?"

Near considered what he had learned of spoilage and began to speak. "A body exposed to the air breaks down faster than a buried body, mostly because of insect activity. Since her body was unprotected, it only being locked in a trunk, it went under decomposition very quickly. Still, I didn't know, and don't think it's possible, for it to happen that fast…and it was a very bad mess inside the trunk. Even if it was exposed, for **that** kind of decomposition to occur, it must have taken at least a few years…"

A black car pulled up and a man stepped out wearing a black suit. Roger frowned. "Such heart-breaking news to break to a wealthy man such as himself…"

"That corpse was the one of a wealthy man's daughter?" Mello asked, voice hitting the peak of inquisitiveness. The old man nodded. Matt watched the man get out of the car, a young lady following him. He stared. "Roger, his daughter…what did she look like?"

Roger shuffled through his recollection of the girl. "Big bedroom eyes, long brown hair, tiny waist…and I believe her name is Cecilia Berlietta if I'm not mistaken…"

Matt pointed. "Then there's a zombie coming towards us…"

Near looked out the window and nodded. "That is her after all."

It seemed Roger and Mello were the first to be in utter shock, and then Matt followed, more perplexed than scared. Near twirled his hair amused.

Roger instantly ran to the man and examined his daughter, realizing that it was in fact his daughter after all. The old man knew he wasn't going senile, but still was in a thick cloud as to why the girl who was reported dead was alive. The wealthy man looked at his daughter and then to Roger, rubbing the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "Yes, well, it seems she wasn't kidnapped after all."

The three boys blinked twice, Mello stepping forward. "But…her body, we found it over there!" Near nodded and Matt pointed to the old brown trunk in the attic by the broken window. "My teddy landed on it by itself. That girl is supposed to be a ghost…"

Matt looked at the old man and stuck out his Gameboy, the palm of his hand shaking. "This thing turned on by itself while we were in the attic! That proves that there's a ghost here! That can't be your daughter if her fucking corpse is being sent to a fucking grave as we speak!"

Roger gasped, "Matt!" and held him back, the console falling to the floor. It didn't break, but the screen cracked. The redhead didn't care about it in the least. Mello held his arm, restraining him. "Wait, Matt. Maybe he can explain…" Mello whispered.

"Explain? There is a real rotting body right there Mello, and I want an explanation!"

Near hugged Maroon, looking at the woman who was assumed dead. She spoke surprised but well mannered. She certainly sounded like a well-to-do girl who grew up with her father, at least Mello thought so. Matt was too pissed to even think about the alternate possibilities. "I was out with my friend Margret shopping for clothes when we were pulled into a alley. The man wanted me to make love to him, but Margret and I ran out as fast as we could when she hit him across the eyes with a shard of a beer bottle she found nearby. We decided to lock ourselves in a hotel until we were certain he wasn't going to follow us home. When we were sure, I ran right back home."

Roger looked at the body, then back to the man, predicting that his story was false. "That corpse looks just like your daughter, Berlietta-san. If this girl is a hired prostitute or something because you don't want to be responsible for funeral funds, then I suggest you let up on this joke before we send you to prison."

Mr. Berlietta and Cecilia shrank back, afraid. "What," the young woman asked. "I'm telling you my father would never lie! I want to see that corpse! I'll prove it to you that this is the real me!"

"Cecilia…" Mr. Berlietta said, trying to calm her down. She simply shook her head and denied him, walking over to Roger and grabbing the collar of his jacket. "C'mon old man!" Roger, appalled at the girl's ugly and fierce behavior, reeled away and looked to a nearby officer. "Please show her the body, officer. Maybe she'll she how high the evidence is stacked against her." He smirked at the thought of catching a culprit in the case and nodded, holding her by the elbow and taking her to the trunk. She didn't struggle and peered inside the dark bloody trunk. She gasped and pulled away, shaking violently. She muttered something, but Roger spoke tauntingly. "Hm? Are you sure you aren't lying now that you've seen you can get away with this?"

"Oka…Oka-sama?"

"Excuse me?" Roger asked. Near's eyes widened. "She said that that body…belongs or _belonged _to her…"

Matt and Mello looked to Near, convincing the white haired boy to finish his sentence. He buried his face in Maroon's fur and sighed heavily.

"**Mother."**

Every officer in the room jumped back, shouting and screaming in horror, creating bedlam that could be heard for miles at the least. Mr. Berlietta heard his daughter speak and ran to the trunk, horrified to see his wife's decaying body.

"Lucia! LUCIA!" He wailed, tears forming in the corners of his blue eyes.

"Oka-sama!"

Cecilia and her father crowded the trunk, examining her body carefully. "It's really her…after a decade…we found her…"

The blonde child, pupils shaking in fear, decided to ask a grotesque question as to fulfill his youthful curiosity about the corpse's origins. "What…happened to Cecilia's Oka-sama?" The young woman looked at the three children through her locks of brown hair, head handing low in disgrace and melancholy. "I was born before my parents married, and on my father and mother's wedding day, she vanished."

Everyone ran a little pale.

"They say that she was kidnapped and raped, but they hadn't found her body until today…"

--OWARI--

Please don't hurt me. You can flame, but not too hard. It's my first デスノートand I wanted it to be good. Really, I hope you all like it. ((Nervous))

Please review and give Mello-san some chocolate!

Matt: And replace my Gameboy, asshole! Why did your retarded fanfiction have to break it?

Near: …

Mello: Just review….okay guys? Please don't make me shoot you or kill your family…

L'Archel: Er….yeah. Bai bai everyone!! If you all liked this, I'll write another chapter. If you hate it, I'll take it down…okay? Don't hate me….((fear of hate))


End file.
